A Melbourne man has defied logic and common etiquette in the middle of winter while doing his weekend grocery shopping.
Look, I grew up near the beaches and would regularly nip to the shops around the corner barefoot or shirtless if it was peak summer.
But when you’re very far from a shoreline worth swimming at and other customers are in two, three, or even four layers, a shirtless shopper parading through Aldi is a little odd.
A shirtless Aldi shopper defied conditions and general etiquette during a recent weekend visit.
(Yahoo Lifestyle/Getty)
It’s a free country, and he’s entitled to do what he wants (provided it doesn’t break any local, state, or federal laws), but it still left me perplexed.
Admittedly, it was an arguably balmy winter’s day, with the mercury hitting a high of 17C.
He could have just done a gruelling workout, run a marathon, or done hours of yard work that was pushing his body temperature sky high.
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But I just don’t think I’d ever be in a situation in winter, in Melbourne, many kilometres from the beach, where I’d calmly walk into Aldi shirtless to get my milk, bread, eggs, and chicken for the coming week.
A poll on this topic that involved more than 2,200 Yahoo Lifestyle readers was fairly unanimous.
A whopping 72 per cent said being shirtless in a supermarket was not acceptable, and 12 per cent said it was only okay if it was right next to a beach.
For context, this poll was created in early March when temperatures were almost double what they were in Melbourne recently.
That’s what makes this Aldi shopper’s move so bizarre.
Do you have a supermarket story to tell? Email stew.perrie@yahooinc.com
Etiquette expert’s verdict on appropriate supermarket attire
Etiquette expert Kate Heussler previously told Yahoo Lifestyle that Aussies needed to cut this behaviour out.
“If you need to flex that hard around fruit, you need therapy,” she said.
Her argument is not about being “prudish” or that women aren’t able to do the same thing.
“It’s about hygiene, comfort for other shoppers, and the fact you’re in a commercial setting, not on the sand,” she said.
“If you wouldn’t walk into a pharmacy or a doctor’s waiting room shirtless, the same logic applies here.”
Etiquette expert Kate Heussler said walking around a supermarket shirtless is not on.
(Source: Yahoo Australia/Instagram/Kate Heussler)What does Aldi say about shirtless shoppers?
Yahoo Lifestyle understands that Aldi has no dress code for shoppers.
Whether you’re fresh off the beach and just in your swimwear or dressed in a tuxedo, you’ll be welcome to peruse the aisles.
But, the only stipulation is to have common decency like you would in other public places.
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